_Sketches of History, Life, and Manners in the West. By James Hall.
Philadelphia: Harrison Hall._
Mr. Hall has made himself extensively known by his Tales and Legends,
as well as by his labors in the editorship of the _Western Monthly
Magazine_. From his long residence in the West, and from his undoubted
abilities as a writer, we should suppose he would be excellently
qualified to write precisely such a book as he has written. His object
in the present publication seems to be not so much the furnishing of
topographical or statistical details, as the sketching of character
and life in the West, _prior to the close of the late war_. To those
who are at all acquainted with Mr. Hall, or with Mr. Hall's writings,
it is superfluous to say that the book is well written. Wild romance
and exciting adventure form its staple.
{68} The policy of our government in regard to the Aborigines is
detailed in the commencement of the first volume--the latter portion
is occupied with the manners and customs of the French in the great
valley of the Mississippi, and with the adventures of the white
settlers on the Ohio. The second volume is more varied, and, we think,
by far more interesting. It treats, among other things, of Burr's
conspiracy--of the difficulties experienced in Mississippi navigation,
and of the various military operations carried on in the wilderness of
the North West. An Appendix, at the end of the book, embraces some
papers relative to the first settlement of Kentucky--none of which
have hitherto been published. We confidently recommend to our readers
the Western Sketches of Mr. Hall, in the full anticipation of their
finding in the book a fund both of information and amusement.